12.9in Apple iPad Pro Will Run OS X and iOS: Can New Rumour be Believed?

If a new rumor is to be believed, then Apple is supposedly working on an iPad tablet device that runs both Mac OS X and iOS.

A report from Digitimes says that Apple is currently developing two new variants of its rumored 12.9in iPads. While one of them is a device that has been rumoured for a long time now, the second one happens to be an Apple tablet that can run both OS X and iOS.

The publication says that it isn't sure if both the devices will ever enter mass production for public release. However, the report does indicate that the device is slated for an early 2015 debut.

However, given that Tim Cook has spoken against the idea of a 2 in 1 device in the past, there's a good chance that it will never see the light of day. Back in 2012, the Apple Boss ridiculed Microsoft's Windows tablets, which have both desktop and 'Metro tablet' modes, as a converging of a refrigerator and toaster, adding that it was a combination his company never wanted to make, according to 9to5Mac.

And it was on that last point that Cook had a lot to say. When asked if Apple was planning to merge its tablet and laptop products, much as Microsoft is proceeding with Windows 8, Cook responded with a quip: "You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those aren't going to be pleasing to the user."

Cook elaborated that converging the iPad with a laptop would result in tradeoffs, ones Apple isn't willing to make. "We are not going to that party, but others might from a defensive point of view."

Adding more weight to the rejection of this rumour is the fact that unless Apple ports OS X to ARM, the company would need two separate CPU architectures inside the machine to function. Moreover, OS X would require a lot of software tweaks to make it touch-optimized for a tablet. Until now, there has been no proof of Apple working on such a development.

The news is sourced as 'according to rumours in the upstream supply chain', meaning that readers should take this one in with a grain of salt.